THE CONSUMPTION OF WHEAT q 
features of the statistics, and there is evidence that as 
wheat-growing areas these three countries have a 
great future before them. Lastly, it is noticeable that 
although wheat production has increased greatly, the 
supply has never been too great to find a market, and 
it is becoming increasingly evident that the demand 
will become more intense as Western ideas and practice 
become more established in the East. 
4. Technique of Marketing. 
Before discussing the question of marketing in New 
Zealand a brief account of the American method of 
placing the wheat crop on the market should be of 
interest. The practice of marketing millions of 
bushels of wheat within six or eight weeks after 
harvesting, the storing of millions of bushels at the 
local elevators, primary markets, and seaboard, the 
rise of grain exchanges, are developments of recent 
times in the United States, and they form the basis of 
the complex but efficient method of marketing the 
great cereal crops. The use of elevators renders the 
cumbersome method of handling wheat in sacks un- 
necessary after it has left the farm. Further, it 
encourages the complete development of a grading 
system, which in turn gives rise to the grain exchange. 
The buyer of wheat is always situated within 
hauling distance of the producer. Two great classes 
of buyers are in existence—the local grain dealers and 
the dealers representing the terminal grain buyers. The 
latter class has been the main controlling factor in 
the producer’s grain market. The railroads generally 
rely upon these two classes to provide the country 
with elevator facilities for receiving and shipping 
grain, and co-operate with them in this by furnishing 
them with adequate transportation facilities. 
The grain is delivered at the nearest railway station 
after threshing, and there it is graded by inspectors 
appointed by the Government or the Board of Trade. 
After the wheat has been assigned to a certain grade 
